Help end demand for turtle shell products. Souvenirs made from the shell of endangered hawksbill sea turtles are sold to travelers around Asia. Educate your travelers on how and why to avoid these products. Join our Too Rare to Wear campaign for free resources to share.

Reduce plastic waste. Plastic in the ocean impacts sea turtles and other wildlife and travelers are a major source of plastic pollution. Encourage clients to use reusable water bottles, bags, and straws and to recycle plastic where possible. Learn more at Travelers Against Plastic.

Respect sea turtles in the water. Avoid
touching, feeding, or crowding a sea turtle in the water, these things can
stress them. Get more tips for interacting with sea turtles in the ocean at Divers For Turtles.

Choose
sunscreen carefully. Chemicals in some types of sunscreen can damage coral
reefs and pollute turtle habitat. Encourage your travelers to avoid any
sunscreen with “oxybenzone” and look for brands labeled as “Reef
Friendly” and avoid sprays that can pollute the sand where turtles
nest. Check out this article in Vogue about the best ways to avoid
sunburn.

Choose
responsibly caught seafood. Sea turtles are vulnerable to commercial
fishing methods like trawling, longlines, and drift gillnets, becoming unwanted
catch (also known as “bycatch”) that is discarded like trash. To help
make turtle friendly seafood choices check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s
Seafood Watch which is also available as a handy app for your phone.

Reduce
your carbon footprint. Climate change affects the health of coral reefs
which are vital to the hawksbill’s survival. A warming planet also skews sex
ratios in baby turtles, changes the abundance and distribution of prey,
increases erosion of nesting beaches, and more. Look for ways to reduce your
company’s carbon footprint by using renewable energy and public transportation.

Donate to
ocean conservation organizations. By supporting organizations working to
protect sea turtles and other ocean wildlife, you can show your clients that
you care about the destinations they visit. Contact us through SEEturtles.org if you want an
introduction to an organization near your operations.

The future of Bali’s tourism industry is likely to promote green and sustainable tourism through ‘Tourism 2020’ and Tri Hita Karana.

On the sidelines of the 2018 Indonesia Tourism Attraction Expo and Forum (ITAEF), held in Kuta last week, House of Representatives Commission X Member, I Putu Supadma Rudana, told local news wires that the future of tourism will change for the better.

He suggested Bali could lead the way and be a prime example of tourism development based on being a Tri Hita Karana – Green Sustainable Tourism Destination.

Comments Off on Residents in tourism hotspots have had enough. So what’s the answer?

Photograph: Horacio Villalobos/Corbis via Getty Images

How do you solve a problem like tourism? It employs hundreds of millions of people, buoys entire industries – but can tear apart the very cities that benefit from it, alienating residents and causing irreversible damage to their culture and heritage.

Protests across Europe have spurred talk of “responsible tourism” and forcing the sector to factor in sustainability, but the problem is already at such a scale that doing anything about it seems akin to turning around a cruise liner.

What’s the way out of this mess?
Read the full article here to find out.

Comments Off on Polar bear’s death raises questions about sustainable tourism in the Arctic

STOCK/Getty Images

The western settlement of Longyearbyen, with a population of roughly 2,000, is the area’s main tourism hub. Currently it’s high-season, which means thousands of international tourists hungering for a glimpse of the Arctic’s natural splendor cruise on both small and large ships, occasionally disembarking for land excursions on remote islands.

On Sunday, 12 crew members from the German ship MS Bremen landed on the northern-most island of the archipelago to prepare for an on-shore excursion with passengers, according to a statement by the Svalbard governor’s office. A 42-year-old crew member was attacked by a polar bear, which was then shot and killed in what the crew member said was an act of self-defense.

The incident is being investigated by authorities, although it is possible that the crew had happened upon a starving bear.

“When you have more people coming to the same area in which the polar bears and other arctic animals live, the risk of conflict and disturbance increases — it’s more of a mathematical law,” said Morten Wedege, head of environmental protection for the governor of Svalbard. “Our challenge is to inform and educate and guide people to know how to behave in the high arctic.”

The incident sheds light on the challenges of tourism growth in the area.

Vanuatu’s foreign minister says a national audit currently underway will help determine the next stages of the country’s plastics ban.

Ralph Regenvanu said the audit would also examine ways of reducing plastic use, recycling and alternative materials.

He said the ultimate goal is to eliminate all single-use plastics going into the ocean.

“There’s going to be a number of options. There are some items we can obviously ban outright like we did with the three items we just banned. But then of course there’s options for container return, return and deposit schemes.

“That’s seems to be something that is very successful in other jurisdictions. Having a levy which is charged and then people get given a refund for the return of a particular item.”

Comments Off on How to Foster New Generations of Global Citizens Through Travel

Credit: iStock/Bicho_raro

According to the Family Travel Association, family travel represents 30 percent of the entire leisure travel market and is the fastest-growing segment in the travel industry.

Within families, that means it is up to the adults to foster a sense of responsibility in a new generation of global citizens and environmental stewards. Traveling with kids in a sustainable way not only teaches them to respect and appreciate the world around them, it encourages them to perpetuate those practices.

Comments Off on Sustainable Travel: It’s Not Just About the Environment

Participation in a community-oriented program in Nepal. Credit: Giving Way

The term “sustainable travel” has a green glow to it, connoting eco-friendly practices and environmental responsibility. But the human side of sustainability, as defined by the World Tourism Organization, addresses community impact, both social and economic, and is newly gaining traction among travel companies.

“There’s a lot of people who think ‘eco-tourism’ when they hear ‘sustainable tourism,’ but that’s a piece of the puzzle,” said Kelley Louise, the executive director of the Impact Travel Alliance, an industry nonprofit organization that focuses on sustainable travel. “Sustainability has a positive impact not only on the environment, but the culture and the economy of the destination you’re visiting.”

Organizations promoting social impact travel aim to emphasize not just big do-good trips, but to educate travelers about their smallest decisions, such as eating at a locally owned restaurant.

Australia has shown immense dedication to the Sustainable Development Goals with the government, businesses, educational institutions, and individuals showing a strong commitment in building a sustainable future.

Below, we look at a few destinations from “down under” and their sustainability efforts.

Brisbane
The third largest city in Australia ranks high in terms of sustainability because of their efficient and easily accessible transport system. Due to their focus on sustainable activities such as composting, waste management, and recycling, Brisbane won the Dame Phyllis Frost first prize in 2015.

City of Canada Bay (Sydney)
The City of Canada Bay is an area located in Sydney. A common feature for all initiatives introduced by the local administration is the involvement of citizen participation. The city has also launched the Greenhouse Action Plan, with a commitment to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases.

Glenorchy (Hobart)
The small town of Glenorchy, located in Hobart, has been recognised for a project involving the industrial reuse of rainwater, which saves approximately 400 million litres of water a year. Furthermore, the town has taken steps to educate the youth with awareness campaigns on solidarity recycling, compost recycling and urban gardens.

For more examples of other noteworthy sustainable destinations in Australia, have a look at the list compiled by Keep Australia Beautiful here.

Tip for travellers

If you would like to find out which Australian tourism operators, accommodations, and attractions are eco-friendly, then look for accreditation by Ecotourism Australia. The Eco Certification logo is carried by those businesses that are recognised as environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable.

You can visit the Green Travel Guide, published by Ecotourism Australia, to go through their list of all accredited businesses.

Rising sea levels threaten key coastal areas like the Mekong Delta, which produces the majority of Vietnam’s rice. The only thing standing between the country and the ocean is a tree.

Mangroves are the climate superheroes of the arboreal world. They grow in swamps along the coasts: thin trunks and tangled, spidery roots submerged in dark, briny water. The roots filter saltwater and can expand eroded coastlines. They also create natural storm barriers and protect agricultural land from saltwater infiltration.